Looking for advice from those who have been there/done that

Hello everyone, first time poster, long time reader. I need some guidance; I graduated from a good school with a 3.2 GPA in philosophy. It was not the BEST GPA, but I also managed to come away with two very solid letters of recommendation, as well as two professional letters of recommendation from former employers, I never failed a class or got below a C (only 5 C's in my college career, a lot of B's), I worked for a year in a psych lab doing undergraduate research, I worked a full-time job all throughout my time in college and I scored very well on the LSAT (168). I also did freelance IT work and earned a teaching certificate in the state of Florida (no REAL teaching experience, I just did it for the resume booster). I also took the GRE and scored well on it, if that at all has any bearing. I have very modest ambitions, I simply would like to go to a good, accredited law school that will afford me a better than decent chance of getting a good job after I graduate. I am not looking to crack the world open with my brilliance, but I would love to practice law professionally. I attribute the average GPA to some economical/emotional hardship I faced toward the end of my time in undergrad. I am not ashamed of my performance in undergrad, but I know I could have done better. My question is what kind of chance do I have with these qualifications of getting into a good, accredited school?

My question is what kind of chance do I have with these qualifications of getting into a good, accredited school?

Your chances are exceptionally good. Don't be so down on yourself. I WISH I had a 168/3.2.

You can get into quite a few really good schools. Get in there and kick ass. If you just want a middling law career, that's certainly within your grasp. Before you bail out and go for that, though, I'd set my sights higher.

Get into the best school you can, study your balls off and graduate top of your class and pull down that $160,000 a year. Go for it. It can be done.

If you fall a little shy and have to live on a starting salary of $80,000 with a midsized regional firm, you seem to be okay with that.

Here's the LSAC predictor. As you can see, you can get into quite a few really good schools. With your numbers, I'd be seriously considering SMU and Wisconsin.

I appreciate the vote of confidence, and I realize my post did make me seem a tad unambitious. The truth is I just try and be as much a realist as I can; I know I may never get into Harvard or Duke, but a good school would be fine for me. Nevertheless, thanks for the reassurance.

Like I said, in your shoes, I'd look double hard at SMU. It's the big king kahuna in Dallas and Jones Day has a Dallas office. That's a realistic path to set you up for a major law career. SMU to Jones Day. I'd focus on that. University of Texas is regarded better, even in Dallas, but SMU has home field advantage. I bet Jones Day takes a lot of new associates out of SMU.